Adjustable tamper blade assembly



1968 w. w. ROSEBERRY 3,396,671

ADJUSTABLE TAMPER BLADE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 21, 1966 VIII/It UnitedStates Patent 3,396,671 ADJUSTABLE TAMPER BLADE ASSEMBLY Wilmer W.Roseberry, Ludington, Mich, assignor to Jackson Vibrators, Inc.,Ludington, Mich, a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No.529,113 2 Claims. (Cl. 104-13) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A railroadballast tamping blade assembly in which the work is done by adjustablymounted blades that can be shifted to compensate for wear erosionwithout varying the required tip angles. The blades are formed so thatthe step configuration of the blades is maintained through the fullrange of adjustment.

This invention relates generally to railroad track ballast tampingmachines and more particularly concerns tamping blades for suchmachines.

Vibratory ballast tamping involves vibrating a blade at high speed andunder considerable force, lowering the vibrating blade into the ballast,and guiding the blade so that the ballast material supporting andholding the track ties is tamped, i.e., the particulate matter making upthe ballast is positioned and tightly interfitted to provide a solidbase for each tie. It is readily apparent that under such operatingconditions tamping blades quickly wear. Indeed, the types of blades withwhich the invention is primarily concerned erode sufiiciently afterthree to five days use to become inefiicient and virtually inoperable.

Therefore, it is the primary aim of the invention to provide tampingblades which can be adjusted to compensate for wear erosion. Morespecifically, it is an object of the invention to provide blades of theabove kind which maintain the desired blade tip configuration throughthe full range of wear compensating adjustment.

It is also an object to provide blades as characterized above which arenot only economical to manufacture but particularly economical to usesince each blade has a useful life exceeding that of severalsuccessively used conventional blades.

Another object is to provide blades of the above type which can beeasily adjusted in the field with simple tools. A related object is toprovide blades of this character which can be maintained in the mostefiicient operating condition by making adjustments that preserve theoriginal blade tip configuration.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description and upon reference to thedrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective showing a prior art blade assemblyof the type with which the present invention is concerned;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the assembly appearing in FIG.1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective of a blade assembly embodying thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the assembly shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a slightly enlarged section taken approximately along the line5-5 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective of another embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 7 is a side elevation of the embodiment appearing in FIG. 6; and

FIG. 8 is a slightly enlarged section taken approximately along the line88 in FIG. 6.

While the invention will be described in connection with certainpreferred embodiments, it will be under- 'ice stood that I do not intendto limit the invention to those embodiments. On the contrary, I intendto cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents as may beincluded within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by theappended claims.

Turning first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a typical tamping bladeassembly 10 of the type used wit-h tamping machines as illustrated anddescribed in US. Patent No. 3,119,346, issued Ian. 28, 1964. Theassembly 10 includes a support bracket 11, adapted to be rigidly securedto a vibration motor, and a pair of tamping blades 12. The blades 12 arelocked by bolts 13 to a mounting plate 14 forming part of the supportbracket 11.

To obtain proper blade movement into the ballast when tamping, the lowerends of the blades 12 are bent to define working tips 15 that aredisposed at an angle with respect to the substantially verticaldisposition of the support bracket 11 (see FIG. 2). As a result, whenthe vibrating blade assembly 10 is lowered into the ballast, the benttips 15 tend to cam the blades 12 toward the left in FIG. 2 so that theblades work under the tie being tamped. Also, the working tips 15 of theblades 12 have a step configuration defined by a notch 16 in theend ofeach blade (see FIG. 1). As a result of this notched configuration, acamming force is developed as the vibrated blade assembly 10 is loweredinto the ballast which tends to cause the blades 12 to work toward theleft as seen in FIG. 1 so that the blades tilt toward and under thetrack rails.

Therefore, because of the bent blade tips 15 and their steppedconfiguration, the tamping blades tend to swing toward the rails and tomove under the tie being tamped so as to insure good tamping action atthe most critical location, that portion of the ballast beneath theintersection of the tie and the rail which it supports. As mentionedabove, blades like the blades 12 wear away after only a few days use.The greatest wear takes place, of course, at the working tips 15 andthis Wear erosion quickly destroys the step configuration shown in FIG.1 and the tip angles shown in FIG. 2. This makes the blades unusableand, under prior practices, worn blades were either simply replaced ornew tips welded on so as to obtain an additional period of blade use.

In accordance with the invention, a blade assembly 20 is provided inwhich elongated blades 21 can be adjusted to compensate for wear erosionwhile maintaining the desirable working tip angle and stepconfiguration. The assembly 20 includes a support bracket 22 intended tohang in a generally vertical plane when secured in working relationshipto a vibration motor. The blades 21 have an arcuate configuration sothat the lower ends, which define working tips 23, are disposed at theproper angle with respect to the generally vertical plane of the supportbracket 22. For adjustment, the blades 21 are releasably locked on thebracket 22 and are supported for movement, when unlocked, along the arcsdefined by the blades.

In the FIGS. 3-5 embodiment, the bracket 22 includes a mounting plate 24shaped to conform with the blades 21, and the blades have slots 25 thatreceive pairs of bolts 26 passing through holes in clamp blocks 27 andin the mounting plate 24. By loosening the bolts 26, the blades 21 arefreed for movement through a range permitted by the slots 25. In makingwear erosion compensating adjustments, the blades 21 are adjusteddownwardly along their own arcs and hence the angles of the blade tips23 remain constant so long as the blades are moved downwardly inincrements to compensate for the amount of blade material worn away.

The blades 21 also have notches 28 in their working tips 23 so as todefine the desired step configuration. To maintain this configurationafter wear erosion, the blades 21 have bands 29 of reduced cross section(see FIG. extending longitudinally of the blades from the notches 28. Inoperation, the thinner bands 29 tend to wear through more rapidly thanthe thicker edge portions of the blade tips. Thus, the bands 29 tend towear at about the same rate as the projecting fingers on either side ofthe blade notches 28 which, because of their outthrust configuration,absorb most of the wearing action encountered by the blades 21. As aresult, the lower ends of the blades 21 wear upwardly in roughly thesame stepped configuration in which they were originally formed.

In the blade assembly 30 embodiment shown in FIGS. 6-8, an arcuate blade31 is releasably locked on a mounting plate 32 constituting part of asupport bracket 33. The blade 31 is fitted into a groove 34, formed inthe plate 32, which guides the blade 31 for movement in its own are, andlocking is obtained by bolts 35 which draw a clamp block 36 against theblade. Longitudinal adjustment of the blade 31 compensates for wear andkeeps the lower end of the blade, defining a blade working tip 37, atthe proper angle in the same manner as described above in connectionwith the FIGS. 3-5 embodiment.

To maintain the desired step configuration in the working tip 37 of theblade 31, the blade 31 is formed of two adjacent members 38 and 39 withthe members being relatively movable. Each of the members 38, 39 haverounded lower ends (see FIG. 8) defining the step configuration of theworking tip 37. This configuration is maintainable by selective relativeadjustment of the members 38, 39 as the lower ends of these members areeroded.

It can be readily seen that the blade assemblies 20, 30 embodying theinvention are well suited for economical large scale production. Theassemblies are particularly economical to use since wear erosion can becompensated for, and each blade has a useful life exceeding that ofseveral successively used conventional blades of the type shown in FIGS.1 and 2. Since only conventional bolts are manipulated, blade adjustmentcan be accomplished in the field with readily available tools.

It will also be appreciated that the adjustable blades of the inventionpermit tamping efliciency to be maximized since frequent bladeadjustments can keep the blade tips at the proper angle and in theproper relationship with their vibration motor to promote effectivetamping.

I claim as my invention:

1. A tamper blade assembly for ballast tamping comprising, incombination, a blade support bracket, an elongated tamping bladereleasably locked on said bracket, said blade having an arcuateconfiguration so that one end of the blade defines a working tip that isdisposed at an angle with respect to said bracket, said blade beingsupported on said bracket for movement, when unlocked, along the arcdefined by the blade so that wear erosion of said tip can be compensatedfor by unlocking, moving and again locking the blade, said working tipend of the blade having a step configuration defined by a notch in theend of the blade, and said blade having a band of reduced cross sectionextending longitudinally from said notch so that the step configurationis maintained after wear erosion by said band wearing away at about thesame rate as the steps of the working tip.

2. A tamper blade assembly for ballast tamping comprising, incombination, a blade support bracket, an elongated tampin'g bladereleasably locked on said bracket, said blade having an arcuateconfiguration so that one end of the blade defines a working tip that isdisposed at an angle with respect to said bracket, said blade beingsupported on said bracket for movement, when unlocked, along the arcdefined by the blade so that wear erosion of said tip can be compensatedfor by unlocking, moving and again locking the blade, said blade beingformed of two adjacent and abutting members being relatively movablewhen the blade is unlocked, each of said members having rounded endsdefining together a step configuration at said working tip, said stepconfiguration being maintainable by selective adjustment of saidmembers.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 492,283 2/ 1893 Gladney et a1.172772 662,081 11/ 1900 Murphree 172744 836,986 11/1906 McManmon l7277l1,017,105 2/1912 Lupton 172761 1,191,793 7/1916 Johnston 1727711,298,837 4/1919 Ware 172-772 2,137,842 11/1938 Jackson 10413 2,892,4176/ 1959 Jackson 104-13 2,934,026 4/ 1960 Beierlein 104-13 DRAYTON E.HOFFMAN, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSCH, Assistant Examiner.

